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I have really enjoyed my year here in Minnesota, working with the Finnish Language program at the University of Minnesota. One of the more exciting Fulbright Finnish Language and Culture Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA) projects I’ve had was planning an escape room mid-term for first and second-year Finnish language students.

I did my master’s thesis on pedagogical escape rooms and have gotten out of multiple escape rooms during my free time. At the University of Minnesota, Finnish mid-term exam has usually been more of a student-led creative project and this year I was able to use my experience and plan an escape room project. 

Planning an escape room is a lot of (fun) work

The plan, in short, was this: the students made Finnish language themed problem-solving puzzles. I combined their puzzles into an escape room, and the students solved the escape room in small groups. They needed to use their Finnish language skills and problem-solving skills. A goal was also to practice vocabulary and grammar that they had learned during the semester. 

The escape room was called: “Where is Poika?”&�Բ�����;

I wanted the story to have a strong cultural connection to Finland and Finnish language. The goal of the escape room was to find out where the trophy “Poika” (the Boy) and who stole it.

As some might know, ice hockey is a popular sport in Finland and winning against Sweden is especially appreciated. Poika is the nickname of the trophy that is used in newspapers, social media, and songs. After a big win, people meet at the market place to celebrate. This theme has multiple good cultural Finnish phrases like “Torilla tavataan” (Let’s meet at the market place) and “Poika on tullut kotiin” (The Boy has come home). I think a good story like this got students excited about the project. 

The students planned their escape room puzzles with a partner before Spring Break. I had given some instructions and examples of what they could do. 

Honestly, the puzzles turned out even better than I imagined and I was very proud. As an example, one pair of students used ��ö������ pins as a prob for their verb puzzle. Another wanted to 3D-print an engine of a car they had seen in a Finnish movie. In this puzzle, students were given instructions in Finnish on how to assemble this 3D-printed engine and when it was put together correctly, you could see word “VALMET”.

Did everyone succeed getting out of the Finnish language escape room?

The escape room was planned for a Monday during class time and every group had about 50 minutes to complete the escape room. There were multiple groups doing the escape room at the same time so I planned the escape room to be able to be modified during the execution. If one puzzle took too much time, a puzzle could be taken away without it affecting the end result. If a group was fast, it was also possible to add a puzzle. 

At the beginning of the escape room, we went through the rules. Students needed to find out what happened to Poika and where Poika is. They were helping the police to find this out. When the group gave the police the right answer, the police (teacher) would give you an envelope which would include components for the next puzzle.

Every group did succeed in finding out what happened to Poika! Last problem included pictures with time stamps and an item receipt. Turns out Poika was accidentally left in the sauna by the partying ice hockey team and ended up at the lost and found office.

Overall, the project was a success. Students made well-thought out and interesting Finnish language puzzles and also solved them. I was able to combine these into an escape room exercise which worked out well. Students emphasized that the project was fun, creative and engaged them with Finnish culture. 

This kind of project would have not been possible without an FLTA as it does take a lot of work and I was very happy to be able to contribute this way during my grant year.